Challenging An Alpha
by V. L. MacKenzie
Summary: Sick of Kagome always leaving to go to her world, InuYasha and Myouga hatch a scheme to keep her in the Feudal Era...where she belongs. InuKag Full sum on Author's page.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - An Idea Hatched**

_All men believe that they are God's gift to women. But if he's the gift, why is she the possession?_

0…0…0

Snarling, InuYasha followed closely after her, stomping to the well, glaring at her relaxed back. He had to keep from letting his eyes drift to her tight ass in her latest fashion statement: jeans. He shook his head, forcing his gaze to the back of her head.

How _dare_ she! She had just turned her back on him! Him! Now she would go back to her weird ass time and fume for a few days.

But he couldn't _afford_ for her to be away from him that long. Something in him was threatening to consume the rest of him if he didn't mate her soon.

_Damn youkai instincts_, he growled to himself. _Fucking hate this shit. I can't go anywhere without Kagome unless I want to go insane._ His eyes slid back to her ass of their own volition and he had to force the moan about to escape his lips back down. He couldn't chance getting her any angrier than she already was. He had to convince her to stay with him before he could coax her into mating him. _That's a huge fucking step! Especially when she so obviously prefers her time to this one. I have to find a way to make her love me back. That way she would never go without me with her and I could keep an eye on her, too._

_Or you could just keep her here. She doesn't let you decide whether she stays or goes; she has to learn now that that shit's gonna end. If you mate her, she won't be going there very often,_ his demon side insisted. It had been speaking up a lot lately, which pissed the hanyou off. It was hard enough to just fight the instincts. But when he physically _had_ to do something, it was all the worse.

A few nights before, he'd found himself staring at her in her sleep, imagining what it would be like when he first took her. His breath had stalled in his lungs at the pictures flashing through his mind. He had been so hard that he hadn't been able to sleep at all that night, though they didn't have to worry much about youkai attacks anymore.

He had to have her.

And if he didn't act quickly, it wouldn't matter whether she wanted it too or not. He could only quell his demon side for so long before it took control.

Clutching the hilt of Tessaiga to steady himself, InuYasha shouted, "Kagome, stop! Come back here!" He tensed to leap in front of her.

She turned towards him, arms crossed over her breasts. Sarcasm dripping from her tone, Kagome replied, "Oh, I'm so sorry, InuYasha! Should I go to my knees to beg for forgiveness?"

The image of Kagome kneeling at his feet made him stop just as he began to jump. His breath caught just as it had for so many nights. Stifling a groan of pure agony, he croaked, "I never said you needed to be forgiven for anything." He copied her stance before going on. "All I want to know is why the fuck you always go to your time when we get into a fight. I don't see the damn point! You come back a few days later anyways!" His voice became a shout as he continued on. He hated her being anywhere but beside him and it ticked him off that she would do this to him. Of course, she had no idea what was going on.

She rolled her expressive blue eyes towards the sky then glowered. "I need time away from you, InuYasha. You always pick fights at the worst possible times! My question is _why_? Why do you do that? It's _so_ counter-productive!" She let her arms drop and sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, annoyed. "So, please, just let me go over there. I just need to cool down. Then we can go find the last shard, all right?"

InuYasha frowned. When she looked up at him once more, he saw how weary she was. Her hair fell as though she'd run her fingers through it a dozen times, falling haphazardly to frame her face beautifully. There were small bags under her eyes, barely noticeable but still there. Her skin was pale, though they were in the sun a lot of the time. Her shoulders sagged under the thin straps of the "beater," as she called it.

Guilt filled his stomach. His mate was so blatantly tired, yet he hadn't even detected until that moment. How could he be so stupid? So blind? It showed how self-centered he was.

_I could never take care of her. She would be sick of me in a day. How could she stand me for the kind of forever mates share?_

"Kagome," he said softly, moving towards her as his arms reached out towards her. "I'm sorry." As he had begun doing since they had defeated Naraku, he drew her into his arms, curling her into his chest. "I guess I can be a bit hard to be with for so long, huh?"

If he hadn't known better, at those words, his little miko snuggled into his arms, a small but content sigh leaving her. "Sometimes, I just really have to talk to my mom, you know? It's hard when we're gone so much."

He loosened his hold as he heard their companions approaching. Kagome moved away from him to twist towards the trees.

Just in time to be attacked by a small ball of fur.

"Kagome!" Shippo clutched her around the neck, his small body plastered to her. "Please don't leave just because InuYasha is stupid. We can kick him out of the village if you want us to. He can come back in a few days." His words were said with such child innocence, InuYasha almost took pity on the creature.

Almost.

Hand landing solidly on the kitsune's head, he growled, "Like you're one to talk about stupid, runt!"

"InuYasha!" Kagome shouted, furiously jumping to Shippo's defense. "Don't hit him!" Scooping the child into her arms, she commanded, "Sit, boy."

Flying to the ground, InuYasha let a string of curses loose, struggling to keep from choking on dirt. She _always did this to him_! It was either a lot of fun for her to watch him digging his own grave, or she was just mad with power. Once they became mates, that shit would stop.

He'd make sure of it.

As the spell began to wear off, he rose on stiffened arms, looking up to where Kagome put Shippo down near the well.

He barely heard her words over the rage pounding in his head. "Shippo, tell everyone that I'll be back in a few days."

With that, she slipped into the well and disappeared.

Hauling his body up, he roared, "Gods damnit, Kagome!" He ran to the well, looking over the edge to see nothing but emptiness. _Damnit, she's already gone through it. Son of a bitch._

Snarling, he leapt into the forest, not even sparing a glance when the kitsune called out to him.

0…0…0

Everyone anxiously awaited the moment when InuYasha would return to the village, knowing he would be furious.

Anyone with working eyes and ears knew why.

Over the past few months, whenever Kagome left for her world—though it was becoming very rare—InuYasha would become more argumentative, his short-temper even shorter. He hated having her anywhere but with them, detecting the jewel shards that Naraku had re-scattered upon his death.

But Miroku and Sango knew better. That might have been a reason, but the bigger one was the fact that InuYasha couldn't watch her every move when she was in her time. She could be with anyone—male or female—and he wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. Though he was pretty good at hiding his fevered glances at their miko friend, both the houshi and the taijiya had caught a few of them, discussing the possibility that InuYasha would take Kagome as his mate.

It wasn't too farfetched. The hanyou so perceptibly loved her as much as she did him, especially without Kikyo to clog his judgment any longer. He protected her more than ever now that Naraku was defeated. Kouga was always running around, he and InuYasha fighting all the time. Both wanted Kagome for their own, but lately, the hanyou had been fighting—if possible—more vigorously than usual, rarely even having to pull out Tessaiga to scare the wolf off.

Both Miroku and Sango shared the same thought: Kagome would be InuYasha's mate. It was just the matter of when that was still hanging in the air. And from InuYasha's most recent actions towards her, that wouldn't be all that long a wait.

"I say we make a betting pool on how long it will take him to make his move. It will make this whole situation all the more fun," Miroku suggested, a knowing gleam in his eye. He turned his gaze to his wife. "Will you wager anything, my dear Sango?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. "What kind of person do you think I am?" A grin widened her mouth. "Put me in for all I've got. I'm gonna say within three weeks." Leaning her head onto his shoulder, she whispered, "I can't believe it's taken him this long anyways."

The monk laughed, resting his head lightly on hers. "His pride is his biggest weakness."

She nodded. "Definitely."

0…0…0

InuYasha paced on a tree branch, his balanced unaffected. His hands were clutched behinds his back, nails digging into the skin of his wrists, the scent of blood reaching his nose. It didn't bother him. All he could think about was the anger bubbling in him.

Kagome had to learn that _he_ was in charge. She didn't go anywhere without _his _permission. She shouldn't be running off to her time whenever she was annoyed. She should be by his side.

But she wasn't. That was the problem. He needed her by him whether she was angry, sad, or happy. It was her job, damnit.

"Master InuYasha! What is bothering you?" a familiar voice asked from near InuYasha's ear. "Nothing terrible, I hope."

"Myouga," he snapped. "What are you doing here?" He put a finger down on the older demon's head.

"Master, I apologize if you think I'm neglecting my duties to give you advice. Is something ailing you?" The flea jumped to InuYasha's nose, getting ready to suck his hanyou blood.

Squashing the other demon, he said, "Nothing of your concern." Ignoring Myouga's fluttering body, InuYasha leapt to the ground gracefully, folding his hands into his sleeves as he slowly walked away. His mind raced with his own merciless questions of what to do. How the hell was he supposed to persuade her to be his mate if she wouldn't even stay in the same time as him!

"Master, I believe that you are deceiving yourself and me if you tell me that nothing is on your mind." Myouga sat on his master's shoulder, folding his arms and legs as he closed his eyes. He sighed, shaking his miniscule head. "Could it have something to do with"—he paused to crack one eye open to look at InuYasha's face—"Lady Kagome?"

"Shut up!" InuYasha roared, trying once more to flatten the flea.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with your demon side?" He spoke calmly even as InuYasha growled. "If you wish to mate her, why will you not do it? It really is quite simple…not to mention enjoyable." As though it were a secret, Myouga muttered the last words under his breath.

"It's not as simple as that! She has her damn world to go to!"

"Ah. So it _does_ have something to do with your youkai instincts." Pause. "I truly did expect as much." Standing, Myouga tightened to knot of the sack on his back, looking slightly bored. "All you have to do is use a bit of magic to keep her tied to you. It really is a simple spell."

Curiosity intrigued, InuYasha said, "Huh, is that right? Tell me about this spell, Myouga."

As the flea told the inu hanyou of the power of this spell, the grin on his face grew all the bigger. Kagome had no idea what she was in for.

0…0…0

Three days later, Kagome returned to Feudal Era, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. She had talked with her high school friends, though now she was believed to be home-schooled. She had also gotten her mother's advice on InuYasha. Which was the same as always, naturally. Her mother constantly told her to give him a chance, that he was just too prideful to make the first move. She understood exactly what her mother was saying, but didn't think she could do it. What if he didn't truly love her? What if he just had feelings distributed from Kikyo to her?

Sliding to her knees just outside the well, she sighed.

"Kagome! We were wondering when you would return!" Sango's voice echoed from just out of the trees. She waved a hand over her head, the other wrapped in Miroku's.

She smiled absentmindedly. It was so cute to see the married couple. Practically the moment they had defeated Naraku, Miroku had insisted on getting married. And they had. Now, nearly four months later, Sango was pregnant and the monk couldn't be any more arrogant. It was a gorgeous thing to witness, since the only other married couple she'd seen was her mother and father, but that had been when she was very young, before he had died.

She wondered if she would ever have the same thing, but instantly told herself that she would not. Even if she found a man in her time, it wouldn't matter. InuYasha was the only man she wanted. That would never change.

"I don't think I was really gone _that_ long," she answered happily. Her friends had always been able to make her smile. "Besides, I've been gone longer than this quite a few times."

"Yes, but not recently. Usually, you only leave for a few hours, if that," Miroku replied, grinning. "It is just as at the beginning of our journey together, isn't it?"

The women laughed at him, silently agreeing.

"Kagome!" came a suspiciously composed voice that was mostly so annoyed and angry. "So you're back!"

Kagome stiffened at InuYasha's tone, knowing that it was worse than if he had been yelling at her. How had she made him so angry without even seeing him?

"Uh oh," Sango said, backing away, pulling Miroku with her. "We'll leave you to deal with our hanyou friend alone. We trust you can handle this." With a small wink, she and her husband disappeared back to the village, wanting to give their companions privacy.

Just as they vanished into the forest, InuYasha burst through the trees, running full-speed towards her. He slid to a stop in front of her, one hand clenched while the other lay limp at his side. "Kagome," he said as though he had to control the urge to shout at her. "I have something for you."

She was taken back by his words. He had something for her? What could he possibly be giving her if he was so angry with her?

He raised his hand and opened it, palm up, to reveal a small, gold locket…much like the one she'd given him when they had first thought they'd defeated Naraku.

"You're…you're giving me the locket?" she asked, confused. Why was he giving her the locket back? Could this be when he says goodbye? Pain ripped through her heart, causing her to grimace at the very real feeling. "Why? I gave it to you. It's _yours_."

He chuckled softly, totally out of character. "Yeah, it's mine. I never said I was giving it to you. I just want you to wear it, is all. It looks better on you, anyways." Her eyes widened at his statement, said nonchalantly. As she stared in shock, he opened the clasp, leaning in to put the necklace on her. She tensed as he got close enough for his hair to tickle her nose. Even after the locket hung around her neck, InuYasha lingered over her and she thought she heard his slight inhale. "There," he murmured. Grinning, he added, "And I knew it would look better on you."

"I…InuYasha. Thank you." She smiled in return as he looked down at her.

The telltale glint in his eyes told her that something wasn't right about this "gift" of InuYasha's. But what could his ulterior motive be?

Another small laugh and InuYasha was bounding off, shouting over his shoulder, "I'll be back in a little while, Kagome. I gotta go find Myouga!"

She stared after him, blinking as she clutched the warm locket in her hand. A barely-there smile graced her lips as she saw the last trace of his red haori disappear in the trees.

She let go of the locket and walked back to the village, feeling as though she were on cloud nine. As she entered Kaede's hut, Shippo ran over to her, climbing onto her shoulder. But she hardly felt it. All she could think of was the fact that InuYasha had now connected _her_ to _him_.

"Kagome, you're back!" Hugging his surrogate mother's neck, Shippo rushed on with the events of the past few days. "The second you left, InuYasha disappeared as well! He came back every once in awhile, and he had this weird smile on his face like he was in on a secret or something. But he only stayed for a few moments, and then he was gone again! And Myouga was with him, which isn't a good sign. They both looked like they were plotting something." Looking into her eyes solemnly, he added, "I don't like it. Not at all, Kagome."

"Child, ye are talking so fast! Be careful, lest ye implode her ears!" Kaede joked. Since her sister had truly been put to rest, the old miko had become more susceptible to jokes and joining in on the younger men and women's humor whenever she was around.

Shippo blushed slightly at the joke. "Sorry." He glanced back up to Kagome and restated everything much slower, taking more than one giant gulp of breath.

"Thank you for informing me, Shippo." She gave him a wide smile. "I like to be kept up to date with everything that goes on here."

"Not a problem, Kagome." His eyes turned sly. "Did you happen to bring any candy with you, by chance?"

She rolled her eyes, but not rudely. "You only have one thing on your mind, Shippo." Reaching for her bag, she pulled out a small box of chocolate. Handing it to him, she said, "My mother bought this just for you. She says not to eat it too fast or else you'll get a horrible stomach ache."

Even as she spoke, he began digging into them, uncaring of the repercussions.

Within minutes, there was a loud moan. "Oh, my stomach!"

0…0…0

"Did you give Lady Kagome the locket, Master InuYasha?" Myouga asked anxiously. He jumped onto InuYasha's shoulder, his face stiff. He paced the relatively large space rigidly.

Smirking, InuYasha replied, "Of course."

"Good." There was a short, gleeful pause. "Now, all you have to do is mate her."

0…0…0

_Tell me exactly what you think. Criticism, comments, concerns. Whatever. Just know that I wrote this at near two o'clock in the morning. Also, I don't know how long until I'll be able to update, so sorry if you get the short end of the stick._

_**SS98**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own, nor do I claim to own, InuYasha and Co. Rumiko Takahashi gets all the credit, I'm just putting them into scenes of my own.

Last Chapter:

"_Did you give Lady Kagome the locket, Master InuYasha?" Myouga asked anxiously. He jumped onto InuYasha's shoulder, his face stiff. He paced the relatively large space rigidly._

_Smirking, InuYasha replied, "Of course."_

_"Good." There was a short, gleeful pause. "Now, all you have to do is mate her."_

0…0…0

**Chapter Two – Stubborn Lovers**

_The only thing worse than a stubborn man is a stubborn man in love._

0…0…0

Kagome was worried. That night would be the night of the new moon and InuYasha was…happy. Yes, they didn't have to worry about Naraku or any other youkai really, but he'd never been so…nonchalant about his human night, before! What was wrong with him?!

She watched him as he sat against the wall of Kaede's hut, eating the ramen she had made. He didn't even notice her watching him—_that isn't normal, either!_—but still tried to use the chop sticks without getting the noodles all over his face.

She sighed and rested her chin on her fist, studying him ardently. Where had this new, almost polite InuYasha come from? He'd been uncharacteristically happy for the past week…since the last time she'd returned from her home in the future. Was he glad that she was back? No, then he would have acted that way every other time. _But he didn't want me to hold onto his locket every other time! Only this time. Could that be it? Could it be because I accepted the locket?_

She shook her head. InuYasha wasn't the mushy type. He wasn't great with expressing his emotions.

As the young miko watched him, a demonic aura broke into her awareness, coming much too quickly towards them. InuYasha sensed it also, his nose and ears twitching before a low growl came from his throat, his hand going to the hilt of Tessaiga instantly. She heard the distinct words, "Damn wolf," and knew that she would be refereeing another infamous jealousy battle that night.

He ran from the hut, cursing violently, Kagome trying to catch up with him as best she could.

Unfortunately, she was waylaid by Shippo, who was hopping around, trying to tell her what she had already figured out on her own.

"Kagome, you have to find InuYasha! Kouga is at the edge of the village saying that you two are supposed to go back to his pack to become mates! He's just _trying _to start a fight with InuYasha! And we know how that'll turn out!" Shippo's words were fast and hard to understand after that, though she caught, "Loves…kill…stench of wolf blood."

Running after the kitsune, who dashed off towards the edge of the village, she tried to think of a way out of this without hurting Kouga or InuYasha. Men could be so _sensitive_ about this kind of stuff! If she went to easy on Kouga, InuYasha would think she was secretly in love him, but if she was too harsh on the youkai, he would likely go into a rage. There was no way to _win_ with males!

She skidded to a halt when she caught the wolf and dog facing off, circling each other as they searched for any unknown weaknesses…just as they did _every time this happened_.

"Kouga! What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to sound pleasant. In her mind, she wondered why she was so polite to him, anyways; InuYasha could beat Kouga in a fight—which they had proven when he'd taken the wolf's jewel shards—so why pretend? _Because you value his friendship. You've just had a little too much time with a certain hanyou…._

"Kagome!" Instantly, the fight with InuYasha was forgotten as Kouga strode to her to take her hands in his. "I've come to bring you back home." He raised her hands until they were level with his mouth. "Come along, mate."

She smiled politely, but deftly took her hands from his, running her hands through her hair to pull it off her neck. "Oh, Kouga, today was so hot. I haven't had time to clean myself at _all_. That last jewel shard is so elusive." She watched him cautiously as he leaned in towards her.

He sniffed the air close to her neck and mumbled, "Kagome, you smell _wonderful_." He looked up at her, his smile reminding her of the big bad wolf just before he ate Little Red Riding Hood.

"Damnit, wolf!" InuYasha shouted leaping to land between the two in the small space allowed him. He used one arm to pull Kagome into his back. "Get the fuck outta here!"

"Move it, dog-turd. That's my _mate_ you happen to be holding. I want her back," the wolf youkai snarled. His pale eyes narrowed dangerously. "I don't want to hurt you; Kagome might not forgive me."

"I was thinking the same thing."

With that InuYasha launched himself at Kouga, snarling and slashing at him with his claws.

Even without the Shikon no Tama shards, the prince was a tough opponent. Some of the power of the jewel must have seeped into his legs because he still moved unbelievably fast. It didn't stop InuYasha from attacking, but it also infuriated him more, causing him to lash out blindly using anything he could.

Kagome rolled her eyes, used to the routine. _If they aren't finished in the next two minutes, I'm sitting him_, she decided. She sighed. _If only I had one of those necklaces on _Kouga_ as well_.

0…0…0

InuYasha could think of nothing more than the need to rip Kouga's heart out just for _thinking_ that he could have Kagome. It made him insane with fury to think that he might be able to make off with her. She was his, damnit, and if that wolf did anything to ruin it, he'd kill him in an instant!

"Kagome, go back to the village," the hanyou ordered roughly, glaring at his frenemy. When he could still scent her near him, he snarled, "Now!"

He heard her feet begin moving away, but still she said, "InuYasha, sit."

Feeling the weight of the beads pulling him down, he fought it fervently, determined to fight its power and rip Kouga apart.

"Kagome, you'd better stay where you are until I get up! I'm gonna give you a piece of my goddamned mind!" he shouted as he started to feel his knees weaken. _Damnit, I can't go down! Kouga will be able to make off with Kagome then!_

Suddenly, it didn't even feel like they were around his neck anymore. There was nothing pulling him to the ground. He smelt both Kagome's and Kouga's shock and used it to his advantage, pushing the curiosity threatening to take his mind off the wolf to the back of his mind. He rushed the youkai, his shoulder hitting Kouga in the stomach in much the same way as he had seen on Kagome's tele-vision when she watched a "football" game with some of her friends. He tackled the other man to the ground then raised his fist to drive into his face.

A soft hand on his wrist stopped him.

"InuYasha," Kagome said softly. "Don't." That one word, said almost pleadingly, halted his fist's downward strike. He sat there for a moment, breathing heavily, ready to attack the wolf.

Then he slowly stands, a dark thought taking hold of his mind. He turns to Kagome, glaring at her for a brief moment then looking back down at the still-stunned Kouga. He felt the pain of betrayal fresh in his heart and snarled, "Fuck it."

With that, he leapt away, deep into the forest, hating himself for his stupidity.

_Gods, I finally decide to do something about what I feel for her, and she chooses the wolf! We're doing just fine and then he shows talking about her being his mate and she goes straight to him! How the fuck was I so stupid?! Of course she'd rather have a full youkai over a half-breed. Anything's better than a half-breed…._

Rage made his sight start to blur with the threat of his transformation. _Damnit, I've been doing that a lot lately!_ He shook his head to clear it. _I can't believe I'm letting a fucking woman do this to me._

_But this one is _yours_. Take her_.

He knew the dark voice well; his demon side was talking to him now, telling him to take her every other fucking minute. Usually, he ignored it. But now it had a point. Kouga hadn't been protecting Kagome for damn near two years. Sure, he'd helped once in awhile, but that didn't account for all the times InuYasha had saved her from something.

He knew he had to be an hour walk away from where Kagome and Kouga had been, but he was abruptly hit with the scent of Kagome…except her scent was laced with fear.

_Fear?_

He turned and raced back towards them, a fierce protectiveness filling him. A livid snarl came through his mouth and he felt his youkai rising powerfully. It snarled, _My mate! He's touching my mate!_

His feet didn't move fast enough to satisfy him and he just hoped—for Kouga's sake—that nothing happened to Kagome. Because if anything did, he would kill him brutally and without remorse.

0…0…0

Kagome backed away from Kouga. "Kouga, you know I can't go with you. I promised InuYasha that I would help him complete the Shikon no Tama." She eyed him as he followed every step she took, neither giving nor gaining an inch.

"And you can fulfill that promise. After I claim you." His voice became deadly. "I'm not going to let that dog touch you. His scent is all over you and it's nauseating." His face scrunched up as he sniffed the air. "Damnit, and it seems stronger than usual!" She heard him mumble something.

A twinge of fright went through her, making her shiver uncomfortably. What did he mean by that? He couldn't mean that he thought she and InuYasha had….

Knowing exactly how territorial male youkai could get, she began backing away faster, hoping he wouldn't notice her retreat. Surely Shippo had warned the others by now that Kouga would be starting something with InuYasha. _They'll be here soon_, she told herself.

"Kouga, I don't know what you mean," she said innocently, stopped by a tree at her back. _Oh, God. I really don't think I can fight him by myself._

He matched every step of hers with two of his own until he was nose to nose with her. "Kagome, I won't have that dog thinking he can claim you. You're _mine_." He grabbed her arm, wrapping his long fingers around her bicep. "Come on." He gave a sharp yank, but she had clutched onto a nearby branch tightly, which caused his yank to almost dislocate her shoulder.

She let out a sharp shriek of pain and let go of the tree limb, her hand going to her shoulder. She clasped it as though it would stop the pain ripping through her. Kouga grabbed her, careful of her shoulder, around the waist and crouched to push off.

Then the sound of something coming out of the trees stopped him.

Suddenly, she was out of his hold and in familiar arms that were completed with fingers topped with sharp claws that teased her skin.

"Don't fucking touch her, flea-bag. I'll kill you the next time you do," he growled, his voice no more than a dark croak. He slowly walked over to a tree and set Kagome down underneath it. "Stay here," he muttered, not looking her in the eyes. "And _don't move until I come back_."

Though she didn't even _want _to move, her body became leaden, unwilling to move. _What…what is going on?! I can't even move my arms to scratch my nose!_

She watched as InuYasha calmly strode over to Kouga, his rigid muscles the only proof of his true anger. She tried to yell to him, but her mouth went dry when she saw him—or rather the blur—punch Kouga squarely in the face, the sickening sound of bones breaking ringing in her ears.

Kouga didn't have time to react before InuYasha was furiously attacking, taking no prisoners. He made no sound in his brutal assault, just stalked the wolf, prepared to fight to the death—of Kouga.

When the prince fell to the ground, even Kagome could smell the stench of blood with her human senses. Nausea filled her at the odor and she mumbled, "InuYasha…why did you do that?"

He immediately spun to stomp over to her, snarling, "Why did I do that?! He planned to run off with you—rape you!—and you're asking me _why I did that_?!" He crouched in front of her. "I promised to keep you safe. And if that means I have to guard you from yourself, so be it."

She blinked at him. _From myself? But…. He thought I was _asking_ for it!_ Finally able to move her arms, she stabbed a finger in his chest. "You think I was _asking_ for Kouga to maul me?! He nearly ripped out my arm from its socket!" Turning her head away from him, she crossed her arms over her breasts. "But, of course, I'm totally into pain and all that!"

Kagome started to rise but halted when InuYasha grabbed her chin roughly and turned her face back to his. She stared at him as his eyes flashed red.

"You'd better not mean that, goddamnit!" he roared. "If I _ever_ see you with any of your other lovers, I'll tear them to shreds where they stand!" His gaze narrowed dangerously. He sniffed her absently and then, as if he knew what she would do, he growled, "Remember, _Ka-go-me_, that won't work. If it didn't before, it won't now."

Her eyes flew to his collarbone and noted that the beads were still there. It could have just been a fluke when it hadn't worked before. Maybe if she just tried….

"Sit!" she screeched.

Unfortunately for her, he didn't slam into the ground, but when she bolted upright, he was left on his knees where he had been, though he could slowly rise. It seemed to be too heavy for him to just jump up with.

She would take what refuge she could get.

Dashing away, she ran through the forest, seeing the top of the Goshinboku. _And then the well is just beyond that. If I just get to my side of it, he wouldn't dare do anything._ Her legs ran fast, despite how shaky her knees were beginning to feel. Every step got harder to take, and by the time she passed the Sacred Tree, her legs had all but given out. She dragged her feet towards the well.

What was odd was that she wasn't _tired_. Her legs just felt so _heavy_.

"Kagome!" came Sango's voice, stunned. "Why are you going to the well?" she asked innocently.

Kagome turned her head and saw Miroku emerge from the trees, too, studying her worriedly. "Are you all right, Kagome? Something doesn't seem right with you…." He and his wife both moved closer to her, watching her as she dragged herself to the well, though she made it barely noticeable. "Did you do something to your legs?"

"I just…got into a fight with InuYasha over Kouga. Again. I guess I'm a little tired from continually getting grabbed by the two of them."

"K-Kagome," Sango suddenly blurted out, "what's that under your shirt?! It's glowing!"

"Goddamnit, Kagome! Stay right there until I get there!" InuYasha shouted. The spell had obviously worn off if he was as close as his voice sounded.

The miko's legs immediately stopped, leaving her just standing there. She tried to pull up her legs, but they wouldn't move. _Not until he gets here…._

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Sango questioned, running to her side and grabbing her arm. "Are you feeling all right? What happened over there?" She ran her hands over Kagome's arms, checking for injuries.

"I…I don't know. I just can't move my legs." As if to prove her point, she tried to pull up her leg.

Miroku just stared at her neck for a moment before he muttered, "He couldn't have…." He crossed over to Kagome and grabbed the locket's chain from her shirt.

The sun set behind them just as InuYasha burst through the trees to see the monk seemingly grabbing Kagome. He had him by the throat too quickly for anyone to do anything about it, lifting him high enough that he was a foot off the ground and scrambling for breath.

"Don't _ever_ fucking _touch her_!" he roared, red gaze gleaming with murderous rage. He gave his friend a violent shake. "I'll warn you I'm past the point of caring who I kill for doing it."

"Is that why you…put an obedience spell…on that locket…?" Miroku choked out. His fingers dug into the small space between InuYasha's hand and his own throat, giving him a little breathing room. At the hanyou's disbelieving look, he chuckled, "Yeah, I know what that is. It's very rare to do, even for demons. Only older youkai are…able to do it." A small grin split his face. "Is that why you were with Myouga so much?" He hit the ground as InuYasha's wide-eyed gaze watched him. He looked up at Kagome as he rubbed his throat. "Kagome, if you're able, you might want to take that locket off. That's why you couldn't move earlier," he croaked.

"Damnit, houshi!" InuYasha swore, swinging around to watch Kagome's reaction.

At first, her face was as pale as snow. Then an angry flush covered her face and she screamed, "You but a _spell_ on the locket?! Is that the _only _reason you would give me it?!" Tears filled her eyes and she brought her hands behind her neck to open the clasp on the necklace. "Then you can have it back!" She tried to open it, but every time she almost had it off, she would get a small shock that would make her let go of the lever that would open it. She glared up at him past the tears, a clear threat in her eyes as he moved closer to her, arms outstretched slightly in what she bet he thought would be reassurance. "What did you do to it?!"

"Kagome, don't touch the clasp. You'll just end up hurting yourself," he said quietly, his eyes slowly fading back to…brown?

_It's the night of the new moon. That means he can't go through the well!_

"I'm going home," she sniffed, wiping futilely at the tears staining her cheeks. She turned towards the well—her sanctuary that was only a few feet away—and went to it, quickly going over the side of it.

Instead of going through, though, she only hit the dirt at the bottom with a dull thud. "What's going _on_?!" she screeched, hitting her fists against the ground. "Why can't I go _through_?!"

"Kagome," InuYasha said from above her. His hand reached down to her, intending to help her back up. "Come on; you can't go back tonight."

"But why _not_?" she cried, having to mop up the moisture once more with her sleeves. "Why can't I go back _home_?"

At the word home, his jaw clenched, as if he wanted to say something. But he held back and only said, "It's part of the necklace thing. If you come back with me to the village, I'll explain it better to you. Hell, Miroku could probably explain it better than I can."

She looked up at his proffered hand and climbed up the wall, ignoring it until he just grabbed her around the waist and hauled her up. She crossed her arms over her chest when he set her back on her feet and walked ahead of him on their way to the village.

A tired yawn came from her when the village came into view and she silently decided, _Tomorrow I'll want explanations. Right now I just want to fall asleep and not have to worry about anything._

0…0…0

InuYasha followed Kagome into Kaede's hut, his arms crossed through opposite sleeves. The moment she sat down, she would demand an explanation on what he had done and why.

The what was easy. It was the why that would be the problem.

How could he tell her, when she was so angry with him, that he loved her and wanted nothing more than to have all those curves of hers to himself? She would slap him hard enough to knock him out! There was no way she would accept anything he said as truth anyways; she'd believe that it was just a ploy to get her to stop being angry with him.

The idea made him angry. She should just believe him. She thought he was still stuck on Kikyo after all this time.

He recalled the day she had died. It had been really hard for him. But what had caused his guilt had been the thoughts he'd had. They'd all been, _Thank the gods it wasn't Kagome._ If he had truly loved Kikyo, how could he think that? He had believed he couldn't choose between one or the other, that there would always be that doubt in his mind whether he had chosen the right one or not. But the moment that thought had entered his mind, he'd known. He wanted Kagome, and if he had to adapt to her insane world, he would without a second thought. She was going to be his and that was the end of it.

And now he had the chance to take her…and she was going to sleep?!

He noticed that she had crawled into her sleeping bag—which was lying just in front of the farthest wall from the door. "I thought you wanted to know what the obedience spell was."

"I want to go to sleep." She turned away from him; he could smell that she was quickly drifting off, so he would just have to wait a little while longer before she would be asleep.

A few moments later, after Kaede had come to announce that she would be sleeping in another villagers hut—they must have been sick—Kagome had fallen asleep quickly, her soft breathing proving to him beyond his sense of smell that she was indeed out like a light.

Moving to sit between her and the wall she faced, he crossed his legs and slowly picked her up, praying she wouldn't wake up. He wouldn't be going to sleep, so why shouldn't he be able to hold her for a few hours?

He gently brought her into his lap. When he jostled her shoulder, she let out a small moan of pain and brought one hand to it, still asleep. The memories of Kouga trying to claim her filled his mind and blurred it. _Damnit, if I wasn't a fucking ningen tonight, I'd just mark her right now!_ But when he was human, there was no way it would be binding to a youkai. It would just be another wound that would heal.

He snarled under his breath and looked down at her. He could order her not to wake up until after sunrise…her body would obey. Then, the second he was back as a hanyou he could mark her, say the claiming words, and then all youkai—even Kouga—would know that she was his. Of course, the claiming words weren't usually used. Typically, it was an entirely _physical_ way that was used to claim a mate. But he knew she wouldn't want to do that.

The words would have to do. For now.

0…0…0

**Finally, a new chapter of ****Challenging An Alpha****! Yay, I can't believe how easily it came after that little helpful idea from AnEndlessRomance. THANK YOU, LUNA!**

**Also, know that all puns aren't intended. I know some of them seem like they are, but they aren't. :P**

**Thank you for reading. Reviews are always appreciated.  
**_**SS98**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not, nor do I claim to, own InuYasha and Co. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Last Chapter:

_He gently brought her into his lap. When he jostled her shoulder, she let out a small moan of pain and brought one hand to it, still asleep. The memories of Kouga trying to claim her filled his mind and blurred it. _Damnit, if I wasn't a fucking ningen tonight, I'd just mark her right now!_ But when he was human, there was no way it would be binding to a youkai. It would just be another wound that would heal._

_He snarled under his breath and looked down at her. He could order her not to wake up until after sunrise…her body would obey. Then, the second he was back as a hanyou, he could mark her, say the claiming words, and then all youkai--even Kouga--would know that she was his. Of course, the claiming words weren't usually used. Typically, it was an entirely physical way that was used to claim a mate. But he knew she wouldn't want to do that._

_The words would have to do. For now._

0…0…0

**Chapter Three - This Is For Real**

_Be careful what you wish for; it just might come true…in a way you weren't prepared for._

0…0…0

Kagome slowly awoke the next morning with InuYasha's voice in her ear. "Kagome, you have to get up. You've slept most of the day away."

One eye opened in suspicion. _She_ had slept the day away? How had _she_ done that? Whether she was in the Feudal Era or her own home, she always got up with the sun and prepared breakfast for everyone. They would wake up to her already wide awake. Yet the hanyou said she had _slept the day away._

"You've got to be kidding me," she said simply, her voice husky from sleep. "You know I don't sleep in that late."

He shrugged. "You did today. Must've been a hard day yesterday."

Memories rushed back at the reminder of the day before. _Kouga and InuYasha fighting…. The prayer beads not working…. Full-youkai on the moonless night…. Obedience spell…. That little…! That reminds me that I still have to skin him for that!_ She sat up quickly, nearly falling over in her haste. "That's _right_! You put a spell on me!" She crawled to glare into his eyes as he sat across from her. "Explain yourself!"

He didn't seem to hear her. Licking his lips, his gaze on her shirt, his eyes seemed to be bugging out of his face before his mouth began to work, no words forming for a moment. "I…. Well…." His eyes went back to hers. "The spell makes you listen to me. No matter what."

"Then why wasn't I able to go through the well last night? You didn't say anything about me not going home!" _An _obedience_ spell! He put an _obedience_ spell on me as if I were an troublesome child!_

"It also keeps you close to me. Since I couldn't go through the well, you couldn't either. Five hundred years in the future is a long ways away." His voice was calm, though his breathing was a little heavy. His eyes settled on her sore shoulder, the one that Kouga had nearly torn out, and he asked, "Is your arm feeling better? He didn't do anything to it, did he?" His tone, though the words were soft, gave her the feeling that the next time Kouga showed up, he'd have to deal with a little-more-than-a-little pissed off hanyou.

"It's fine." She brought her other hand to it, resting it there lightly as she looked away for a few silent moments. She abruptly turned her glare back to him. "And don't change the subject! I want to know _everything_--in extensive detail--that this spell does, and I want to know why you thought it was a good idea in the first place!" She watched him impatiently.

He instantly met her fury with his own. "Well you keep going back to your damn time when we still have to find the last jewel shard! You never listen to me when I tell you to stay here, you just sit me until you can go." He brought up one clawed finger to point in her face. "And from now on, you won't go through the well unless _I _am with you!"

She stiffened instantly, feeling a small shiver go through her immediately after he gave the order. Tears filled her eyes, though she would rather not admit to it being more out of fear than frustration.

It was _real_. Things she had fantasized about--maybe not to that extent--were coming true. He cared so much about her that he didn't want to leave her side for a moment. It was true; she'd been wishing for some kind of sign for his feelings towards her since they'd defeated Naraku. But to put an _obedience spell_ on her?! Wasn't that a bit extreme?!

_I should have listen to Eri._

_**Flashback **_**(Kagome POV)**

Sitting at a table in WacDonalds, my friends and I sat, eating our food. It had been a pretty quiet day. After taking summer school classes, I'd been accepted into the same high school as my friends, though it was an all-girls school. Not that it bothered me much. I already had a guy I was looking after. And he started gloating the second I told him that there were no other boys in my class.

"_Feh. They're lucky,"_ he'd said with a smug smirk on his face. I'd been overjoyed when the words left his mouth, believing that it was truly a sign of how he felt for me. But the next words blew that all away. _"I'd have to kill them if they interfered with you helping us get the jewel fragments back."_

Which had led to me spending three days in my era. I was so _exhausted _from all our fighting. I had to rethink our relationship before I tortured myself much more.

That was why I was with my friends at WacDonalds instead of running around in Feudal Japan trying to find that last evasive shard of the Shikon no Tama.

"So, Kagome," Yuka began, leaning towards me as she snapped me back into reality with the sly look in her eyes. "What's up between you and _InuYasha_? You're never home anymore, so we're guessing that you're always with _him_." At my stupefied face, Yuka laughed, waving her hand at me dismissively. "You didn't think we would keep falling for all those illnesses and how quickly you go from 'near death' to perfect health, did you? My question is how you got your mom and grandpa to go for it."

I scratched my head, trying to hide my face from them. "Well, they don't really have much _choice_ in the matter," I whispered truthfully. If InuYasha wanted me in the Sengoku Jidai badly enough, my family couldn't stop him. Of course, it was rarely that he when he came to get me I didn't go with or my family didn't want me to.

Ayumi gasped. "You mean InuYasha _threatens_ them?! You've got to get away from a guy like that! If he hasn't changed in _two years_, he won't change at all!"

My eyes widened as I looked up at her. She was usually the most supportive of my "relationship"--if you could call it that--with InuYasha.

"You guys, we have to let her decide for herself," Eri supplied as Yuka opened her mouth to add something to what Ayumi had said. "She's old enough to do so on her own."

I smiled at her gratefully, glad that someone understood that it was _my _decision. "And he doesn't _threaten _them. It's just…well, he's a lot stronger than them, so they can't exactly _do_ much, you know? But they support us."

Yuka rolled her eyes, already bored. The newness had worn off my "forbidden" romance, so she rarely stuck around for the stories. "Ayumi, will you come with me to get an ice cream? I want to know what you think of the guy at front counter." She scooted out of the booth, followed closely by Ayumi. Yuka was a bit of a player now. She went from guy to guy like most people did nail polish colors.

"Kagome," Eri began the instant they were out of earshot. "What's got you so sad? Did something happen with InuYasha again?"

I folded my arms on the table, sighing. "That's the _problem_! Nothing has happened! He still acts like I'm just a means to an end!" My head fell on my arms. "And I don't know how much longer I can handle it."

Eri was still beside me before she leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Kagome, you haven't…had _sex_ with him, have you?!"

My head flew up immediately. InuYasha and I have _sex_?! Yeah, right! No matter how much I wished, it wasn't likely. And, gods, sometimes I did get so _horny_ watching him fight! Half the time, he didn't even wear his haori anymore, saying it held back his movements. After perfecting his _Mediou Zangetsuha_, he believed it his haori was too restricting. Which led me into trouble, since most of the time I was staring at the muscles of his back or chest, trying not to drool all over myself.

"Don't I wish!" Lowering my voice so she would understand I didn't want everyone to know, I added, "We've only kissed _once_! And _I_ kissed_ him_!"

Eri didn't seem too surprised at my revealing fact; she seemed more glad that I hadn't had sex with him.

Putting her hand over mine, she squeezed it comfortingly. "Don't rush it. I'm thinking he's probably just a little shy about the whole thing. Though two years _is_ a long stretch." She shook her head slowly, her small grin still on her face. "And don't wish for something you aren't prepared to get; it might be more than you'd wanted."

I gave her a quizzical look.

"Well, if he's half as possessive as you claim, the second you guys are together…_that way_, I'm sure you won't get a moment's rest. He'll probably hound you all the time over every little thing.

Oh, she had _no idea_.

_**End Flashback**_** (Back to normal POV)**

Standing, Kagome clutched her fists at her sides. "Know what? I don't care anymore! You can take your _obedience spell_ and shove it!" Turning away from his disbelieving face, she stomped out of the hut, intending on fighting the _curse_ he'd put on her if it was the last thing she ever did!

She passed Miroku and Sango, who sat comfortably against a tree, the monk's arm wrapped around Sango's shoulders lovingly. They watched her cautiously as she stormed past, giving each other curious looks before standing to follow.

"Don't come near me; I'm going home!" the young priestess warned furiously.

The pair glanced at each other once more, knowing better than to get in between whatever had gone on between InuYasha and Kagome that time.

"Ka-go-me!" InuYasha shouted, already bounding after her. "Get back here!"

The monk and taijiya watched as Kagome's raging movements halted, her body rigid as though fighting internally. Then she spun around, slowly making her way back to InuYasha, who stood with his arms crossed over his chest at the doorway of the hut they'd occupied. Her legs seemed to be moving of their own volition, the rest of her body obviously fighting to do the opposite.

They saw Kagome's lethal glare and backed away silently from the scene about to unfold; it wasn't safe even for bystanders.

"InuYasha!" she screamed as she made her way back to him. "Si--"

Her verbal attack was stopped quickly and efficiently when InuYasha growled, "You can't sit me anymore unless it's a life threatening situation."

Her mouth clamped shut and angry tears sprung back into her eyes. She had only banished them moments before, which made her ever more livid. When her feet stopped in front of InuYasha, she glared up at him, tears falling noiselessly from her eyes. She had to stop herself from sobbing as she croaked, "Right now, I wouldn't be too close to me. I'm liable to k-kill you."

He raised one dark eyebrow at her, not amused. "I'd like to see you try." Without pausing, he said, "Kagome, you won't _ever_ be out of my sight or out of earshot. And you're going to stay here _where you belong_."

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Kagome could do nothing but nod in unwilling compliance. The tears that were in her eyes quickly dried up with her rage. "I…I hate you," she finally muttered, knowing the words were only from the position she was put in but not caring. She wanted to hurt him as much as his stupid _spell_ was hurting her. She'd rather be dead than have no control over herself.

A small flicker of hurt crossed over his features, but it was quickly gone, covered by a ruthless mask he contorted his face into. "Feh. I don't think that really matters at this point."

A sob finally escaped her and she ducked past him into the hut, intending to disappear into her sleeping bag for a while.

_I shouldn't have wished for this._

0…0…0

_I…I hate you_.

The words still rang in his head, tearing at his heart expertly. Though he had smelt her twinge of regret towards the words, he knew that a small part of them was true. Of course she would hate him; he'd taken her freedom, her choice.

_But I had to! What the hell else was I supposed to do, just let her run away? Hell no! She needs to stay here, in her home!_

Yet even the arguments his mind created weren't enough to stop the onslaught of self-loathing that filled him. _I didn't even _try_ to give her a chance to choose! Damnit, what the hell was I thinking?! I could take off the locket, of course, but…not until I'm sure she won't leave me forever. I just have to take it easy on the orders, is all. Maybe once she sees that I didn't do it to take away all her decisions, just to make sure she stays with us…._

_She won't hate me as much._

He slumped against the side of the hut, smelling her tears and hearing her soft sobs, though he doubted anyone other than a demon would be able to. He could hear her clutching and relaxing her fingers over the blanket, the rustle of her legs moving restlessly beneath it. His heart broke with each small cry that left her.

_Damnit, I need to find something to stop this fucking feeling! I need to get away from her…but I can't. Not when she's _crying_. Not when it's _my fault_!_

He tried to block the sound by slamming his ears down on his head, but it still reached him, making him squirm uncomfortably.

_Why the fuck do I care anyways?! I finally have what I want! Kagome won't be going anywhere any time soon and she certainly won't be leaving me for Kouga or a damn ningen! I should be fucking _ecstatic_ right now!_

But his conscience smothered him, making him stand and start to go into the hut. The hand that landed on his shoulder stopped him, however, instead making him twist his head to look at the owner.

"InuYasha," Miroku said. "I think you had better leave this to Sango. It's a…woman thing. They're truly the only ones who can fix the crying." He let go of the hanyou's shoulder and turned back to his wife. "Sango, if you would please? I think I'll take InuYasha for a little walk to talk about all this."

Sango nodded, sending InuYasha a withering scowl before moving into the hut, already cooing to Kagome.

"Come, InuYasha. You and I need to have a moment to ourselves."

InuYasha followed, but at a safe distance. He knew Miroku was likely to scold him for doing something so selfish; he didn't care. There was nothing the monk could say that InuYasha hadn't said to himself a thousand times.

When they reached the edge of the forest, Miroku sat down, motioning for InuYasha to do the same.

"Now, InuYasha, we must speak quickly, since Shippo will undoubtedly be here in a few moments to demand what has happened to make Kagome cry." Sigh. "InuYasha"--Miroku glowered up at his friend--"what made you think for a moment that putting a spell on Kagome was even _remotely_ a good idea?! Especially since she has always valued her ability to control her own actions so much! Did you think that she would believe it to be a great thing?! She is _crying_ now because of you! If I knew you wouldn't damn well tear my head off my shoulders, I would beat you to a stump for doing this to her!"

"What the hell do you care?!" InuYasha ordered. "It's not like it affects you at all!"

"Kagome has done nothing to warrant what you're doing to her! She is one of my close friends--not to mention my wife's _closest_ one!--and I do not like to see her treated thusly! I demand that you remove the charm from her immediately!"

"No," the dog demon said evenly.

"What?!" Miroku stomped to his feet, pointing his staff at InuYasha's nose. "Do it _now_!"

"I can't!" InuYasha was on his feet, also, his breath heavy. "She was deciding on going back to her world _to stay_! I heard her mumbling about it in her sleep all the time! I can't let her _do _that! Damnit, I love her too fucking much to see her leave now!" His stopped, realizing what he had said. His breath came roughly as the silence passed over them slowly, like a stubborn mule trying to be pulled into a fire.

"InuYasha," Miroku said, his voice breaking into the reserve. "Then why would you do this to her? Why not just tell her?"

"I…. It wouldn't matter, damnit! Why the hell would she choose to stay here with a _half-breed_ when she's got a human back in her world acting like a lost puppy?! She would never choose me!" InuYasha spun away from Miroku, determined to go back to the village, kick Sango out of the hut, and….well, he didn't know what he'd do when he was alone with Kagome, but he'd do something that would stop her tears!

"InuYasha, I don't believe you are giving Kagome enough of your trust. I believe that if you would just _tell her_ how you feel about her, she would decided to stay with you--with us--here."

The hanyou ignored him and continued on. _I know she wouldn't._

0…0…0

"Kagome?" Sango said quietly, staying by the door rather than going straight to her sad friend. "Would you like some company?"

The sleeping bag rustled, the material sliding down as Kagome thrust herself up, launching herself towards her friend. "Sango!" she cried, catching her friend around the waist and nearly knocking them both to the floor. "I…I can't believe he would do this!" She buried her face in the slayer's shoulder. "I…I don't even have a choice to go home anymore!"

"Shh, calm down, Kagome," Sango cooed, lightly stroking Kagome's ebony hair. She said no more; it was best to let her friend cry it out than to try to make her happy with lies. To tell the truth, Sango was more than a little furious with InuYasha herself. What had made him think that it was a good idea to put a charm on the locket he planned to give to Kagome?

"Sango! He…. I can't believe he w-would do this! Why did he do this?!" Kagome's sobs became louder, barely muffled by Sango's shoulder.

"Shh, why does he do anything he does? I'm sure that he'll be willing to tell you if you just ask him." Pause. "On second thought, we may have to beat it out of him."

A watery laugh left Kagome. "Can I have the first shot?"

Smiling, Sango answered, "Of course. You're the one he's done wrong against, so you get the first shot."

Kagome lifted her head and moved away, wiping at the tears that left her eyes. "Thank you, Sango." She sniffled once more. "I'm glad that I can count on you."

"And you'll always be able to."

The girls shared one more small moment of comfortable silence before they heard the men's voices from outside the hut.

"InuYasha! I suggest you don't go in there! I'm sure they're plotting your imminent demise at this very moment!" Miroku warned, clearly far behind his dog-eared friend. "And women should be avoided at such times!"

"Shut up, monk! I'll do what I damn well please!" The hanyou then promptly burst into the hut, nearly slamming into Sango. He ignored her mutterings to advance on Kagome, who instantly stood to glare up at him with blood-shot eyes. "We're going to your world. Now."

She folded her arms across her chest, furious. "Oh, so _now_ I'm allowed to visit my family? What if I told you that it doesn't matter _what_ you say, I'm not going anywhere with you?" She turned away from him. "Besides, if I go over there, I'm going to school tomorrow which means _you can't come_."

"God damnit, Kagome!" he yelled, stomping over to her. Swooping her over his shoulder, he started out of the hut. When Sango blocked his path, he put his hand more tightly around Kagome's flailing legs and snarled, "Move it, slayer. We're going somewhere."

Sango raised an eyebrow at that. "Or your going to move me? Is that what you wanted to say? So you'd push around a pregnant woman?"

"What?!" Miroku thundered, appearing in the doorway. "Damnit, InuYasha, if you so much as touch her--"

"This is why I hate fucking humans!" InuYasha shouted to the ceiling. Then he glared at both the monk and taijiya. "I wasn't going to fucking _push_ her! I was going to do this!" With that, he leapt up, crashing through the fragile ceiling while blocking Kagome's screaming body from anything that could hurt her.

He landed on the roof of another hut and used it to push off, towards the forest, leaping into the trees towards the well. But Kagome thrashed wildly, nearly kicking him in the balls several times. The only thing that stopped her was the length of her legs.

_Fuck, I should have known this wouldn't go well! Gods, I should have just waited for her to fall asleep!_

When he skidded to a stop in front of the well, he put her down, small growls rumbling from his throat with each exhale he made.

"Tell me right now; do you want to go home or not?"

She straightened her back, lifting her nose slightly. "I'll go home. If I can go by myself." He could smell her belief in her failure. _She thinks that I'd say no?_

_Damn, she knows me better than I thought._

"No."

"InuYasha! How can you be so mean to Kagome?!" came an annoyingly familiar voice from the woods. It was accompanied by the small kitsune owner moments later, who rushed over to the miko as quickly as his small body would allow. "Let Kagome go home!" Shippo ordered from his perch atop Kagome's shoulder. "She's never done anything to make you want to stop her! Besides, if you let her go, at least then she'll come back willingly!"

The fox struck a powerful point. If he allowed Kagome this freedom, she would come back of her own will. He wouldn't have to worry about her believing that he only wanted to control her. But what if she decided not to come back? What if she blocked the well so he couldn't pass to go get her?

_I'll give her no more than five days. After that, I'm going to get her._

"Kagome," InuYasha said as though the fox hadn't been there. "You can go back to the other world by yourself." _Just know that if you take too long, I'm going to get you._

A shocked expression crossed her features before she gently plucked Shippo off her shoulder, setting him down on the ground. Crouching to his height, she said, "Be good, Shippo. I'll bring you back some treats. Oh, and I'm sure Mama would love to give me more crayons for you." At his delighted smile, she stood once more, not even sparing InuYasha a glance. "I'll be back in two days. I just need to get my homework and a few supplies."

She jumped into the well, not even looking at him.

When the purple light engulfed her and her scent, he reached up to catch Shippo's flailing leg that wanted nothing more than to connect with his head.

_At least she's coming back_.

0…0…0

**A bit short, I admit, but I really like it. I'm hoping that you all will, too!**

**Thank you so much for reading! Now all you have to do is review (I can try, can't I?)!  
**_**SS98**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own InuYasha, sadly, so please don't send any bloodsucking leeches--I mean, nice lawyers--after me.

**A/N:** This came to me while reading another story (something one of my friends randomly wrote in Summer School).

Last Chapter:

_She jumped into the well, not even looking at him._

_When the purple light engulfed her and her scent, he reached up to catch Shippo's flailing leg that wanted nothing more than to connect with his head. _

At least she's coming back.

0…0…0

**Chapter Four - Can You Trust The Uncontrollable?**

_Humans will always be afraid of the unknown, the intangible, and the unbelievable._

0…0…0

Kagome had returned four days later and had pointedly ignored InuYasha with ferocious determination. Whenever he spoke to her, she would turn to someone else, not even flinching when he would growl at her. After seeing him run off time and time again, she hadn't asked where he'd gone nor had she given any indication that she cared. She'd just continued with whatever it was she had been doing.

Then they had begun traveling the day that she had returned. There were several rumors of the last jewel shard deep within the northern forests, and he decided that they would do more research into the matter. She still hadn't wanted to talk to him throughout.

So he'd given her space, allowed her time to think about the revelation.

But _six days_ without any time with her had worn his patience thin. He had to find _something_ that would get a reaction out of her. _Any_ kind of reaction would make him happy, damnit!

A sudden thought popped into his head. What had Miroku said all that time ago? Something about using…the direct approach?

_Hn, that could work! It'll definitely get a reaction out of her! I'll have to be more direct about things…then I'll even be able to see that pretty blush of hers. Besides that, I'll be showing anyone else that she's _mine_. No one will take her away from me, I swear it._

Hopping down from the branch he was perched in, the hanyou scented the air, deciding to go find her. He could smell her near the fire she had no doubt created herself with help from her "matches", but doubted she was alone. Which was okay; it didn't affect his plans one way or the other. Of course, it would also show Kagome that he was adamant in his decision to keep her.

As he began striding towards the rest of the group, he pushed any thoughts of pride from his mind, convincing himself that he truly didn't care what their companions thought of him finally staking his claim on the young priestess.

Walking confidently into the light of the fire, the golden-eyed boy sat down directly behind the cerulean-gazed girl and pulled her into his lap, his arms staying firmly around her as he rested his head on her shoulder. He ignored her gasp and the tightening of her body as she prepared to pull herself away. He constricted his hold on her so she was more firmly held to him.

"InuYasha," she said a few moments later, her tone a warning. "What do you think you're doing?" Her voice was a match for his own growls. "Let go of me." She jerked within the circle of his arms futilely. When he didn't do as he was told, her head swung around to glare at him.

Lifting his head to show her his smirk, he replied cheekily, "Why should I?"

He watched as the fire danced within her eyes, though he was sure it was her own fury that lighted her eyes. A faint red flush grew across her cheeks as her glare intensified.

"Let. Go."

Instead of complying graciously, InuYasha's grin widened as he returned to his original position, seeing several disbelieving looks on the faces of his friends. He had the urge to pull away, squashing it vehemently. He had to forget about his pride if he wanted this woman as his mate. She wouldn't come easily, he was sure. Taking away her choice hadn't been his brightest idea. But if he could convince her it wasn't _necessary_ to him to control her, maybe he could salvage the relationship they'd been having.

He nuzzled the column of her throat with his nose, feeling her shiver almost unnoticeably against him. He took her moment of complete unawareness to bring her closer to him, enjoying the texture of her skin against his cheek and hands. He barely held her name behind his lips, knowing that if he allowed it to escape, it would be a breathless plea for her love. No, he had to prove something to her and begging wouldn't do him any good.

She relaxed in degrees within the circle of his arms, though she didn't fully loosen up. Their friends watched each other in confusion, silently asking the others if they knew what was going on.

But, as the light from the fire began to become nothing more than smolders, no one spoke, but quietly got up to prepare for bed. None of the companions had spoken since InuYasha's uncharacteristic show of blatant affection. The air had been tense.

When Kagome would have risen out of his hold, InuYasha instead swooped her up in the cradle of his arms, carrying her over to her sleeping bag before lightly setting her upon on it as if she were delicate glass. The others, preoccupied with their own musings, said nothing still, just diverted their attentions to other insignificant things.

"InuYasha," Kagome finally said, looking up at him suspiciously after sinking into the plush bag. "What are you doing?"

Like that was their cue to leave, the monk, slayer, and kitsune left the couple alone, saying something about going to find fresh water.

"What do you mean?" he asked nonchalantly, settling into his usual sleeping position beside Kagome's sleeping bag a lot closer than he would have before.

"What's up with all the sudden public displays?"

Closing his eyes in relaxation, he asked tiredly, "What public displays?"

"The affectionate ones!" she shouted in annoyance at his intentional density.

He shrugged. "Maybe I've just decided that it's useless to do otherwise." He opened one amber orb to watch her when he heard the rustling of the bag, indicating that she was getting out. "Where are you going?"

Turning back to him from where she stood on the other side of the sleeping bag, she stared at him in wide-eyed amazement. "I'm going to go find my way back to the real world. This has got to be some kind of weird dream or something." She blindly stumbled through their camp as the embers of the fire died away.

Standing, the hanyou cracked his back before following after her. Confusion swept through him when he just circled around where the fire had been.

"Kagome? Where are you going?" He caught up with her, catching her around the waist to ask the question directly into her ear.

"To find the wormhole I fell through."

The miko said it with such complete belief in the words, InuYasha couldn't stop the smile from rising to his lips. He had no idea what a "wormhole" was, but it sounded incredulous. "Kagome, it's dark out; you wouldn't even be able to see this 'wormhole'." He gently lifted her by her waist, walking slowly backward to her bed. "You can look for it in the morning."

She yawned. "I guess you're right. I'm _really_ tired." Her voice drifted off, but just as he would have stepped onto her sleeping bag, she was rigid in his arms again. "Stop doing that!" she shouted, pushing her hands against his chest to propel herself away from him. It didn't work, of course, though she put a great deal of force into it.

"Doing what?" he questioned innocently. _She's confusing when she's confused_, InuYasha decided.

"Stop acting so cute when I should be mad at you!"

He would have chuckled at the childish note in her words, but the fact that she had just called him "cute" caught his attention immediately. He froze for a moment, liking the feeling of happiness that spread through him. Then he crushed her closer to him and plopped down on her sleeping bag, situating her once more in his lap.

Despite the power of his arms around her, she tried to wriggle out of them, furiously mumbling under her breath.

He stopped her by laying his head on top of her own, just taking in the feeling of her lying with him.

"Inu…Yasha…?" she asked slowly after a few moments of silence. "You have to stop doing this. The whole bipolar act isn't doing anything for my state of mind."

In defiance of her words, she relaxed into his hold, moving her head out from under his so she could bury her face in his neck. He could smell her scent fading into a gentleness that could only be sleep. "I expect a full explanation of your actions…in the morning. For now, I'll forget about it." Her breathing didn't fully even out, telling him that she was still fighting sleep for whatever reasons.

Turning his head slightly towards her, he whispered, "Go to sleep, Kagome. I'll be here in the morning."

Instantly, Kagome fell asleep, any thoughts in her mind pushed into oblivion.

0…0…0

InuYasha had been so immersed in watching the sleeping beauty that he hadn't even noticed when the others returned. He'd moved the two of them into the sleeping bag, facing away from where their companions returned.

"InuYasha!" Shippo snarled quietly, marching to where the hanyou lay. "What did you do with Kagome?! She--" The kit then saw the priestess's form lying in the crook of the dog's arms as he played with her hair absently. "What are you _doing_?! Kagome's going to sit you a million times in the morning!"

InuYasha twisted just his head to glare at the child. "Shh! She's sleeping, brat!" He then went back to his original position, stroking Kagome's hair before concealing his face within it. "Leave me to sleep, too."

Sputtering, Shippo knew he couldn't fight InuYasha--not without being completely beaten--and looked to his other friends for help. They strolled towards the pair, as well, unconcealed astonishment lighting their expressions. The kit knew then that something was _definitely _wrong with this picture.

"Shippo, maybe it's best if you sleep somewhere…else tonight," Sango suggested nearly inaudibly, gently lifting him from the ground. "I'm sure you can use Kirara to keep warm."

"But…he can't just _steal_ my spot!"

"It seems that he can do whatever he wants, Shippo," Miroku noted. "Besides, I'm sure he wouldn't mind fighting you for it. My dear Sango is right; you will have to find somewhere else to sleep tonight."

Shippo, seeing that not even his cutest face would sway the married couple to help him against his hanyou enemy, sighed in defeat and looked around, spotting Kirara--in kitten form--walking from the trees into the small clearing. He went to her, asking if he could sleep with her. She mewed and transformed, lying down and allowing the young fox to curl up beside her.

As Miroku and Sango also found their own sleeping area, InuYasha smirked. The runt would have to get used to not being able to sleep next to Kagome.

0…0…0

_She ran towards him, arms out, smiling happily even as the locket that burdened them bounced against her chest. She knew he would reprimand her for running the moment that she got to him, but she didn't care. It seemed like he'd been gone for so _long_. Of course, it had only been a few hours yet it had felt like a few lifetimes._

"_InuYasha!" she said happily, nearly reaching him. Her fingertips brushed his suikan before curling into it._

"_Kagome!" he breathed. His arms shot to her upper arms, grasping her tightly as if she had just tripped. "You can't go running around, damnit! What if you hurt the pup?!" His voice was a mixture of reproof and worry. "You know you can't do that kind of stuff anymore! That's why I leave you with Kaede!"_

"_But InuYasha," she laughed, about to pull him into a hug, "The baby and I are perfectly safe. You wouldn't let the baby get hurt!" She could feel her face lightening as she glanced up at him, a wide smile stretching across her face._

_A sudden sharpness stabbing into her stomach stopped her cold, turning her happiness into horror. A smirk curled his lips maniacally._

"_Don't be so sure about that," he snickered, his blood red eyes gleaming as the markings on his face pulsed restlessly._

_Slowly, Kagome looked down at the horrific picture of her stomach, watching as her blood poured onto the ground through the hole he had made with his razor sharp talons. As the scene unfolded, all she could think of was her baby…_their_ baby…he had killed her _baby_…._

_While the world spun into darkness around her, throughout her, she swore before she fell lifelessly to the ground that he would pay…she would make him pay_.

0…0…0

Kagome awoke breathing harshly, bolting upright in her sleeping bag. Immediately there were strong bands around her waist. She fought against them, not caring who it was. All she could think of was to save her baby, the tiny child that had been so ruthlessly slaughtered.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" came the voice of the murderer, the voice that she had sworn vengeance on. She twisted within his hold, blindly attacking him with all the strength she could muster.

"You killed my baby!" she chanted as her fists hit his chest, doing no damage to him. Finally, he grabbed her wrists, forcing them behind her back. The move pushed her closer to him despite her struggles. She collapsed in sadness against him, whimpering, "I hate you."

She felt the body beneath her head flinch at her words, but InuYasha's soothing voice murmured to her, "Kagome, it was just a dream. There's no baby." He pulled her closer. "There's no baby," he repeated sadly as her arms wound around him.

She blinked her eyes a few times, seeing for the first time that she wasn't in her dream. She could feel no blood running down her front, no pain. But…it had been so real. As if she had actually been experiencing it. And her sadness returned at the wave of longing flowing through her. She had wanted, to some point, for it to be real so desperately. To know what it was like to have InuYasha as her lover. Hadn't she really always wanted--at least since she had figured out she loved him--to be InuYasha's mate? To be the one to love him for the rest of their lives?

"I-InuYasha." The dream's events flooded back to her, making her cringe in his arms, but when she looked up at him, she knew it wasn't _this_ InuYasha. "I…it was so _real_."

His eyes held a hurt look for a moment before he nodded in agreement. "They always do."

Wondering a bit at that, she ignored her confusion to bury her face in his chest, silent tears rolling down her cheeks at the feeling of loss. She pressed one hand softly against her abdomen, breathing calmly now.

_It was just a dream, Kagome. Get a grip on yourself._

She pushed gently against him a few moments later. "I need to get some breakfast."

He let her go, seemingly reluctant to do so, and watched as she shakily rose to her feet. When she stumbled, he was already behind her, steadying her with his long, clawed fingers around her waist. She flinched, the dream fresh in her mind as he flexed his hand against her. "I-I'm fine. Just let go." Pulling away, she went to where her bag sat, rummaging through it for one of the Pop Tart packages she'd come back with.

InuYasha took in her appearance as she slowly nibbled on the pastries. Her face was unbelievably pale with dark bags under her eyes. Her hands trembled as they swept through her hair nervously, making him wonder just what exactly happened to her "baby". Could the dream have taken so much out of her? The night before, she'd been ready to attack him; what had happened to that Kagome?

"Kagome," he said quietly sitting beside her. "Are you all right? The others should be back soon, so if you want to be alone--"

She spun around then, her eyes boring into his. "I _do_ want to be alone, but that seems to be impossible ever since you put this locket around my neck! If I could take the thing off, I would toss it into the nearest river and let it rust down there!" She stood abruptly, off balance.

His ears pinned back onto his skull at her verbal onslaught, not wanting to anger her further. Without being able to use the rosary beads, she would be even more ornery than ever, which meant she could easily do some _other_ kind of bodily harm to him. He whimpered slightly at the thought.

"Kagome! You're up, finally!" Sango said happily as she returned to their small camp with her husband in tow. "Gods, we didn't think you'd get up at all today!"

The young priestess immediately threw the hanyou before her another glare. "Really? How odd," was all she said, however.

Unnoticing of the silent fury erupting from her best friend, the slayer smiled, letting go of Miroku to put her arm around Kagome's shoulders. "How about we go swim for awhile before we head out for the day? You look like you could use it."

Kagome nodded weakly, still not removing her eyes from InuYasha, though they had acquired a new look to them. "Yes. That will be good for me." She followed blindly where Sango led her, ignoring the looks she received from the men of the group.

"What happened to Kagome? She looked shaken up," Miroku asked worriedly, his eyes drifting after the women. They swiftly went back to InuYasha, aggravation showing clearly in his violet gaze. "What did you do, InuYasha? Surely you haven't tried to start fights mere moments after she's awoken!" The monk had been acting much the same throughout their journey to the north, immediately jumping to the conclusion that whatever had happened was the silver-haired man's fault. Mostly it was, but it didn't stop InuYasha's temper to rise at his assumption.

"What makes you think it's my fault?! I left her for half a minute to take a piss and when I get back, she's crying in her sleep. Suddenly she's awake and mumbling about her baby!" The half-breed's voice carried, causing him to recoil when he could still scent Kagome within earshot. She would think he'd been angry about her having a nightmare when it was really just Miroku he was furious with.

Shippo and Miroku looked at each other for a moment, confused. Turning back to InuYasha, Shippo asked, "What do you mean 'her baby'? Do you mean like me or that metal cart she always calls her baby?"

InuYasha shrugged, folding his arms into their opposite sleeves. Looking away from them, he muttered, "Well, I don't know. It could have been. But she kept clutching her stomach, so I'm guessing that wasn't it." _Damn, what had Kagome been dreaming about? And why did she say I killed her baby?_

There was a long stretch of tense silence.

"_What_ baby, InuYasha?" Miroku demanded what could have been centuries later. The usually easy-going houshi reeked of barely suppressed fury and near-violence. "What aren't you telling us?"

Another moment of still quiet. Besides the monk's deep breathing as his hands clutched into fists at his sides, there was no sound in the small circle. The red clothed dog could hear every heartbeat within the silence, from Miroku's harsh one to his slow one. The question sunk in around them all.

_Was _there a baby? That was quickly answered: no. He would have smelt the difference in her the moment she came within smelling distance. But if there wasn't a baby, why was she so frightened of what had happened to it?

"Damnit, InuYasha, answer me!"

The callously spoken words broke through the thoughts inside InuYasha's mind, making his head snap up to catch his friend's eyes.

Rage met rage. "I don't fucking know, ningen! Why the hell are you asking me?!"

A pause. "You mean you and Kagome haven't…done _that_?" Miroku asked, cautiously glancing to the young kitsune at his side to see if he had any knowledge of what they were talking about.

_He thinks the baby thing was because we mated? If only!_ "No, monk, Kagome and I haven't had…_done that_," InuYasha replied shortly, annoyed with having to watch what he said around Shippo. But it brought something to the forefront of his mind. Could Kagome _want_ his child?

A small weight in his lap stopped his thoughts again. Looking down, he saw that Shippo had climbed into his lap and had been poised to rap the larger demon's head with his tiny fist. But, having his attention, Shippo said to InuYasha, "If something's wrong with Kagome, are you gonna fix her this time, InuYasha?"

That decided it.

0…0…0

"Kagome, are you sure you're all right? You look like you haven't gotten a wink of sleep even though you slept nearly half the day away," Sango noted, studying her friend's features as the signs of fatigue seemed to become more pronounced. Raising one hand out of the water, she put it onto Kagome's forehead, checking to see if she had a fever.

"I'm fine, Sango," Kagome answered, hugging her knees to her chest tightly. "It was just a bad dream."

The taijiya nodded. "They do have that kind of power." Eyes warm, she added, "But sometimes it helps to tell someone else about it."

Kagome shook her head. "No. This one was just so…_real_. I…I could practically _feel _it. I guess when I woke up, I just wished it _was_ real." She rested her cheek on her knees as her friend waded in the water, fiddling with the straps of her one piece.

As a wedding present, the girl-from-the-future had bought both Miroku and Sango swimsuits, a queen sized bed, and a baby cradle. Since she spent little to no time in the future, she had a lot of saved up cash that had made the shopping no problem.

Moving up to shore to sit beside her, Sango wrapped one arm around Kagome's shoulders for a one-armed hug. "You can tell me, Kagome. I can see that something about this dream is hurting you. If you tell me, it might feel a little better."

Sighing but not knowing what else could help the empty feeling deep within her body, Kagome began, retelling the story to the other woman.

"It…it started bright and beautiful. I…I was running to"—a blush crept up into her cheeks even though Sango already knew Kagome's feelings towards a certain hanyou—"InuYasha. I was laughing, even when he scolded me for running with the-the baby. He said I had to be careful with the pup. I hugged him and said that I knew he wouldn't let anything happen to it, that we were perfectly safe. Then…then I felt an intense pain in my stomach and when I looked down, he said, 'Don't be so sure about that.' I-I saw his _claws_ digging into my stomach, killing _our_ baby.

"But when I looked back up to him, it wasn't _him_. Well, it was, but it wasn't. He was in full-youkai form. Then I woke up." Tears welled in her eyes as she glanced up at the quiet Sango. "I…my _baby_, Sango! Our baby…he killed it." The tears fell. "It _hurts_, Sango."

"Kagome!" Sango breathed, turning the semi-hug into a full embrace. "I…I don't know what to say!" Moving so Kagome looked directly into her eyes, she said, "You _know_ that InuYasha would never do that, don't you? Look at him with you; if there was a baby involved, you _know_ he would never hurt it."

"That's just it, Sango. I know he would never intentionally kill a baby…_our_ baby, but…what if his _youkai_ would?"

0…0…0

InuYasha forced himself to sit and listen to what Kagome was saying. She was still afraid of his demon side? After Tessaiga had been repaired and he'd defeated Ryuukossei, they hadn't really had a problem with it. Whenever he wasn't feeling in control, a quick grab of the hilt of the sword at his hip would squelch it.

_She believes my youkai would kill any baby we had?_

He had known that at some time he would have to face this. Kagome might not want to admit it, but she _was_ afraid of his youkai half. She didn't care that he was a hanyou; she'd admitted she liked him best as a half-breed. But when his demon blood took control, she was terrified. A few times, he hadn't cared who came near him, not even when it was Kagome. He'd just felt a need to kill.

But would he even kill their own pup?

0…0…0

**That took a totally different turn than I thought it would. I don't know where it came from, but wow.**

**This raises a question I have for all of my readers:  
****Do you think, if InuYasha was in his full-youkai form, that he would kill his unborn baby?**

**That has always been a question of mine, though after he stopped transforming (for the most part), it kind of sank back into the recesses of my mind. I mean, one part of me says that he wouldn't; he would know that it was his pup and would therefore want to protect it. Baser instincts and all that. But then the other side says that he really doesn't have any feelings—instincts, emotions, memories—when youkai. That would mean that he would just rampage.**

**So I want your opinion: Would he or wouldn't he?**

**Reviews, please!  
**_**SS98**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything.

**A/N:** Wow! The feedback for last chapter was phenomenal! Thank you to everyone that reviewed/alerted/favorited this story! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Could it possibly be because I asked such a gasping question? Well, I'd just like to thank everyone because it seems that the consensus is that InuYasha would _not_ hurt his own child in youkai form.

Also, there's been some confusion on whether he is still wearing the beads or not. He is, he just ordered Kagome not to use them unless the situation was dire. The beads are still on.

Last Chapter:

She believes my youkai would kill any baby we had?

_He had known that at some time he would have to face this. Kagome might not want to admit it, but she was afraid of his youkai half. She didn't care that he was a hanyou; she'd admitted she liked him best as a half-breed. But when his demon blood took control, she was terrified. A few times, he hadn't cared who came near him, not even when it was Kagome. He'd just felt a need to kill._

_But would he even kill their pup?_

0…0…0

**Chapter Five – Fading Doubts**

_Things can only get better for soulmates._

0…0…0

A few hours and a lot of pacing later, InuYasha came to the conclusion that he and Kagome really needed to talk. Without the interference of their companions. For the few hours since Kagome had told Sango of her dream, the demon slayer had been sticking close to her, constantly asking if she was all right.

The kitsune had been, too. Whenever InuYasha so much as _looked_ at Kagome, he would bare his tiny fangs and climb protectively into her lap, watching the hanyou ferociously.

_Damnit, I've got to get her the fuck away from these guys!_

Miroku, at least, seemed to be too intrigued by his thoughts to do anything. He just sat, staring into the fire, occasionally mumbling incoherently to himself.

Finally, InuYasha couldn't take the pained look on Kagome's face anymore. Ignoring the others' glares and confusion that struck him, he rose to his feet and strode over to her, gently picking her up and leaping into the trees before anyone could stop him. He heard the kitsune's childish shouts ringing into the forest and Sango rising to her feet, but didn't stop. The faster he moved, the faster he and Kagome could get all of her fears--and his idiocy--out into the open.

Her hands immediately clutched around his neck, even as she squeaked, "InuYasha, put me down!" In response, he moved faster, causing her to clutch herself closer to him. "I mean it! Put. Me. Down!"

"No," he said simply, continuing on to where he had smelt the creek ahead.

For a moment, she stared at him in shock, but the look quickly turned into a furious scowl, one to rival his own. "It wasn't a question, InuYasha!"

"I know."

That took the wind out of her sails. Luckily, InuYasha skidded to a swift stop a few seconds later, so she didn't really need to worry about it. Suddenly, she found herself dropped onto the ground, flat on her butt, with an aggravated hanyou kneeling in front of her, glowering.

"Now you're gonna tell me what has you so fucking worried all the time," he ordered, giving her a fierce look.

She felt something compelling her to tell him and knew that he was using the stupid obedience spell on her. A rush of anger swept through her at his underhanded tactics, but she couldn't stop the words from coming out between her clenched teeth. "It doesn't help that you put a _spell_ on me, you know!" She paused, hoping he would interrupt and stop her from continuing on to the real reason.

Her prayers were answered.

"Only because you always have to go back to that weird world of yours! What if something happened to you over there?! How would I protect you then, hn?!"

"Nothing will happen to me over there! I don't even _need _you to protect me; my family watches out for me! Besides, you _know_ you can go over there with me, you just never let me go!"

There was a long silence and she quite honestly believed that he would leave it at that when his head ducked down. She started to stand, but long fingers curling around her wrist stopped her easily. Once she was looking down at him, his hand tightened on her. "It's not their job to watch out for you, Kagome," he growled lowly, his amber eyes boring into hers.

She swallowed at the odd gleam in his eyes. It was as if he wanted to add more onto his statement but wouldn't. Shaking it off, Kagome shouted, "They're my _family_! That's what they _do_!" She yanked at her arm, knowing he wouldn't let go. "Let me go! I'm going back to the others!"

"No," he said sternly, tugging on her arm until she stumbled back, falling to the ground just in front of him. She let out a yelp, flailing wildly as she fell, trying to catch herself. He did so for her, making sure she didn't hit the ground hard. When she caught her breath, she twisted around to glare at him savagely, opening her mouth to say something. "Shut up," he ordered furiously, watching in satisfaction as her mouth abruptly slammed closed. "You're gonna listen to me, Kagome, until I've had my say."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, but she didn't turn away. Good. That would make this that much easier.

"I know you're scared for whatever reason"--he wasn't prepared to tell her that technically he had been spying on her--"but you've gotta stop this shit! I'm sick of you looking at me like I'm gonna eat you or something!"

He stopped for a moment, trying to hold back the whine of agony about to rip through him. Bad idea to have anything even remotely sexual come out of his mouth. At that moment, his hormones were running rampant over him. Damn it, he should have just waited until she'd agreed before putting any kind of fucking claim on her!

He opened his mouth to say more when an odor smacked him in the nose. A growl rippled through him. Why the fuck was that wolf coming back, damnit?!

"Kagome!"

She jumped a little at the sound of her name, the familiar voice just as Kouga made it to them, skidding to a halt. InuYasha forced his body to stay on the ground with Kagome wrapped in his arms, fighting the need to beat the wolf's head in.

"Kagome, I came to--what the hell did you do to her, Muttface?!" he shouted, his hands reaching to pry the young priestess from InuYasha's arms, only to get slashed at for his attempt. "Damnit, you marked my goddamn mate!"

Everything froze for a long moment before Kagome turned to look up at him, a lethal glare on her face.

"InuYasha, what did you do?"

0…0…0

"Do you think we should have followed them?" Sango asked from the opposite side of the campfire, nervously playing with the tie on her Hiraikotsu. "What if they run into a demon? We should follow." She rose, ready to do just that when the monk's voice reached her.

"I'm sure InuYasha and Kagome can handle any demon that may be lurking out there. Besides, I think they need the time to work out whatever is going on. I suggest you just let them be." He rose, going to his wife's side. "I think you need to rest, Sango. There's no reason for you to exhaust yourself or the baby."

She twiddled once more with the Hiraikotsu before sitting down. "Fine. But if they aren't back soon, I'm going to go looking for them either way."

Shippo abruptly stood. "Kouga's nearby."

Miroku and Sango both tensed, the pregnant slayer getting to her feet swiftly. It was still too clear in their minds what had happened the last time he had shown up; they couldn't afford for InuYasha to get angry again. Besides, Kagome wouldn't forgive him if he did anything to Kouga that was permanent.

"Shippo, you and Sango will stay here. Kirara and I will make sure nothing happens," Miroku said, already moving into the trees with a swiftly transforming Kirara in tow. "Do not leave the camp, Sango!"

She huffed irritably at his commands. What a jerk. How dare he think that he could just order her around like that! He thought that since he was her husband, he could order her around? Yeah, right. If she wanted to go after them, she would. Besides, what would he do? Yell at her? Whatever. That didn't bother her in the least.

Rising, she was surprised when Shippo transformed into a large ball, blocking her path. Her eyebrow raised in question.

"Miroku doesn't want you to leave the campsite."

That was a pretty boring answer.

"Shippo, he can't just tell me I can't go somewhere. If I think my friends are in danger, I'll go to them if I want." Going to move around him, she was once again cut off. "Shippo…."

"I won't go against his orders, Sango. Sorry."

Seeing that he wasn't going to budge on the subject, she sat back down. _Why do males always have to stick together?_

0…0…0

"Let go of me, InuYasha!" Kagome screamed, squirming free of the half-demon's arms. "I…I can't believe you…why do you keep doing this?!"

She hoped the smell of her tears drove him crazy. He deserved it. Why did he have to keep doing these things? First an obedience spell, now "marking" her; when would he finally ask her permission?

"Kagome, I can expla--"

His reply was cut off by Kouga's fist as it slammed into his mouth, nearly knocking him backward.

"How dare you mark _my_ mate?! You can't just…damnit!" He gave the hanyou a furious kick into his midsection, doubling him over for a moment. The wolf was surprised when he didn't fight back, merely wandered around him, towards where Kagome was no doubt standing.

When she saw that InuYasha planned to follow her rather than battle his "rival", she whispered, "InuYasha, please just leave me alone." She continued away from him quickly, hoping that for once he would just listen to her. Why was he so hell-bent to do everything without asking her? What did he even have to gain from it?

A flash of brown and Kouga was standing in front of her, his hands reaching for her shoulders.

She backed away slightly, not wanting anyone to stop her from going on alone.

Her back hit InuYasha's chest, his arms going around her waist. She gasped and began struggling, which caused Kouga to start growling.

"She doesn't want you to hold her, Dog-Turd! Let 'er go!" His clawed hands reached to tug her out of his hold, his glare intensifying. "You shouldn't have marked her, and she knows it!"

"Shut up, wolf," InuYasha said, taking a step backward, bringing Kagome with him. "If you'll leave us alone, I won't rip those legs off your body." The words should have frightened the wolf, said lowly in a darkly calm tone. But it didn't seem to faze him enough for InuYasha's liking. "Get. The. Fuck. Out of here!" he roared, making Kagome jump. His arm instantly tightened on her as he prepared to shove her behind his back.

Kouga's eyes widened for a moment before narrowing, clawed hands flexing furiously at his sides, rising as he prepared to leap.

His legs tensed, pushing him off the ground towards the pair.

InuYasha thrust Kagome away and pulled Tessaiga out of its sheath, all in one smooth move.

Tessaiga wasn't held out defensively, the young priestess noticed with sudden horror. He couldn't actually mean to _kill_ Kouga this time!

With that thought, she rushed back to stand between them, seeing that the prince hadn't decided that anything was out of the ordinary. So she did the only thing that came through in her frazzled mind.

"InuYasha, sit!"

Disbelieving that the word--after his command not to use it--had actually come out of her mouth, Kagome watched as he flew to the ground, Kouga landing with a heavy downward strike at where InuYasha's neck _would_ have been. She shuddered at the thought of how close both of them had been to killing the other before stiffening her spine. They had _both_ been willing to kill each other! Over something so--well, the fact that InuYasha had "marked"--_memo to self: demand an answer from InuYasha for that_--her wasn't exactly _small_. But whatever.

"Thanks, Kagome," Kouga said, flashing her a toothy smile. "It'll be that much easier killing the bastard for marking you." His hand rose, ready to swipe at the downed InuYasha, when Kagome stepped in to protect him. The wolf rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Kagome; I'm getting really sick of you always protecting this mangy mutt. There's no point to do it anymore; the last shard disappeared with Naraku. Your promise to Dog-Turd is fulfilled."

"I promised forever."

She had no idea where the words came from, or why she chose to say them. They just sort of…came.

Time seemed to stop as a tense silence filled the area. The moment was destroyed, however, when InuYasha rose to his feet, striding towards her with a large grin on his face. Kouga, his blue eyes disbelieving and hurt, just stood where he had landed, obviously unable to speak. His mouth opened and closed, the sound of his teeth clicking together the only thing coming from him.

"Kagome," InuYasha said, standing before her.

She swallowed quickly, trying to come up with a reason behind her words, grasping at straws not completely there. When the hanyou leaned closer, she forgot that Kouga—hurt and distraught—was only a few feet away from them. "I-InuYasha, w-what are you…what are you doing?"

The smile should have told her he had read into her statement. It should have warned her that the old InuYasha was no longer coming to the surface. She should have realized that he was going to change.

She hadn't even seen it coming.

0…0…0

Miroku and Kirara had watched the whole scene unfold. From beginning to end. Though the monk was astonished by Kagome's bluntness, he knew that he would have to intervene before InuYasha did anything; with Kouga upset, anything could happen at this point.

"Kagome!" he shouted a few seconds before bursting into their small enclosure. "Sango sent me looking for you; she is quite worried. Would you mind terribly if we got going?" His question was directed towards the still motionless wolf standing maybe ten feet from the pair.

Kagome leapt away from InuYasha immediately, a bright flush on her face. Moving swiftly to Kirara's side, she began swinging herself onto the cat's back, only to be grabbed and thrust onto InuYasha's instead. He grinned over his shoulder at her and took off into the trees at break-neck speed, playfully frightening the young priestess every chance he got.

An awkward silence fell over the three left behind. Of course, it had been bad enough when InuYasha and Kagome had been there; for them to leave when Miroku knew very little of the wolf-youkai before him, everything got a little…uncomfortable.

Not knowing what to say, the monk and nekomata left, leaving the heartbroken wolf in their wake.

They had barely made it into the forest when a pained howl filled the night, making Miroku cringe in empathy for the poor sap.

0…0…0

Neither Kagome nor InuYasha spoke of the scene for the next few days. But that didn't stop the arrogant hanyou from acting upon it.

Instead of his usually ornery attitude towards walking rather than using the faster members of the group as transportation, he ordered that they simply walk the rest of the way to the village. Of course, it hadn't taken a genius to realize why he wanted to walk when his fingers entwined with Kagome's.

Even when they approached the village, his hold on her did not cease. He kept a darker look on his face, however, as the villagers glared at them, obviously not happy at the show of affection between the hanyou and priestess. They backed down quickly, however, when one corner of his mouth quirked up in a smirking snarl that showed his fang.

At first, Kagome had been wary of his sudden change in attitude. She'd stiffened every time his hand went towards her, but after a short while, she seemed to become more content, leaning into his side slightly as they walked beside each other.

The scene made the houshi and taijiya following behind grin to one another, knowing that this was the breakthrough they had been waiting for. Kagome and InuYasha were openly showing their feelings when they knew several people were watching. They had thought it would take much longer.

The youkai who had claimed to have the last shard of the jewel was nothing more than a big talker; InuYasha dealt with him easily, disposing of the remains nonchalantly.

Though they obviously did not like the idea, the villagers invited them to spend the night in their largest home, giving them only one room, of course.

Just as the sun began to drift below the horizon, Miroku and Sango curled up on the far side of the room on the larger futon, Kirara and Shippo curled near one end. InuYasha and Kagome sat near the other, smaller mat, an obvious show of disrespect. The hanyou had growled and been ready to attack those who had so blatantly criticized them, but Kagome stopped him by sighing softly and laying her head on his shoulder.

Now they sat, just like that, just watching the candles flickering inside the darkening room. Kagome yawned widely, her eyes nearly closed in exhaustion. "I must be tired more than I thought I was."

InuYasha nodded stiffly, rising to his feet before sticking his hand out to pull her up. She blinked at it for a moment before allowing him to bring her to her feet. Walking the few feet to the spot where she would sleep, she plopped down, stretching before trying to get comfortable.

"Here," he said, taking off his haori to drape over her body. "It'll keep you warm."

"What about you? You'll be freezing," she pointed out even as she curled into the material.

"I'll be fine." A small smile quirked his lips as he settled against the wall nearest her head. Crossing his arms over his chest, Tessaiga tucked against one limb, he subtly scented the air, sensing that the other were nearing sleep. _Good. A couple hours of comfort wouldn't be horrible, would it?_

He waited impatiently for the others to fall into their dreams, furiously trying to stop the tapping of his fingers against his arms. Weren't humans supposed to fall asleep quickly? Their bodies were so easily fatigued, they should have been completely done in for the night.

After what seemed like hours, Kirara, the last of them to go to bed, was asleep and InuYasha had his opening.

Knowing that she was already asleep herself, InuYasha moved behind Kagome, pulling his haori over him as well—okay, so he was a _little_ cold—curling her into the curve of his body possessively.

He thought back to the progress they'd made. From frightened to affection in only two days was quite a feat.

He still blushed slightly whenever they walked close together and the others began whispering, or Kagome entwined her fingers with his. But that no longer stopped him. He had tried not to use anything that could be considered a command around her, hoping that a little more of her trust in him would return.

Unfortunately, he had. But it had only been once.

_**Flashback**_

It was early morning. No one but Kagome seemed to be willing to get up, not even InuYasha. They had moped and complained for several minutes before Miroku and Sango had begun leading the way, Shippo and Kirara in tow.

The hanyou, however, had stubbornly stayed on the ground, yawning theatrically. "Kagome, don't you think I deserve a little rest? The village is maybe an hour away; we don't even _need_ to get going, yet."

Though shocked at his blasé attitude, Kagome had placed her hands on her hips, scolding, "We _do_. I need to go home to get more supplies, and the faster we get this over with, the sooner I can go there." When he said nothing, she began tapping her foot impatiently. "Well? What do you have to say?"

"I say come down here and rest up."

He hadn't guessed, however, that it would have the same effect on her as a "sit" for him.

She'd gone crashing on top of him, flailing and unable to push herself up. "InuYasha!" she'd gasped, her breath catching . "Let me up!"

_**End Flashback**_

He'd hastily told her she could stand up, feeling the blush heating his cheeks. Of course, that hadn't stopped the _other_ reaction of his body, so for the next hour or so he had had to hide himself from her. But the imprint of feeling her body against his was clear to him both physically and mentally. The memory had randomly come into his conscious mind, tormenting him.

"InuYasha, if you wanted to sleep next to me, you could have just asked," Kagome suddenly murmured, scooting backwards to press herself closer to him.

He chuckled, slightly embarrassed, and wrapped his arm around her waist snugly. "Didn't want to 'freak you out'."

She smiled serenely. "Never." With that, she fell back into unconsciousness.

He returned her grin, letting himself go to sleep…but only for a few minutes.

0…0…0

**Wow. Well, that didn't end up as expected, either.**

**Short, yes. But with everything in life, it's just hard to do much writing and I wanted to get this updated.**

**Question for this chapter:  
****Do you like stories where Kagome becomes hanyou?**

**I send my thanks and ask for reviews!  
V. L. MacKenzie  
**_**aka SS98**_


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